


Any Way The Wind Blows

by enjolraspermittedit



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mortal AU, less death, more tags will be added as i update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 10:06:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19827907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enjolraspermittedit/pseuds/enjolraspermittedit
Summary: Thus begins the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, in a modern world of mortals. Eurydice finds herself in a new town and accidentally stumbles upon Orpheus, and she finds herself falling in love with him against her wishes. But times are hard, and she's a runaway from everywhere she's ever been.





	Any Way The Wind Blows

Eurydice hopped off of the train, bags in her hand. She wasn’t sure how many times she’d done this, how many times she’d impulsively moved to a new location. She _did_ know that this was the farthest she’d ever traveled. Hopefully this place would be better, warmer, more welcoming. She waved a brief goodbye to the conductor of the train, an older jovial man called Hermes. Then she set off alone, as always.

She didn’t have a place to stay, not yet, but she was going to look at apartments later. She definitely didn’t have enough money to get a nice place, but hopefully she’d be able to crash _somewhere._ Luckily, the weather wasn’t as freezing cold as she had expected. It certainly wasn’t hot, but it was better than one could expect for midwinter. Still, Eurydice shivered as she walked through the streets of the town. She realized she didn’t even know the name of the town she was in - she hadn’t paid much attention to the stops on the train. Well, she’d figure all of that out later. She just wanted a hot meal and a place to charge her phone for now. She eventually stumbled upon a place, a bar of some sorts. Well, she didn’t have much money, but she was sure she could afford something. Or, well, she _hoped_ she could afford something.

There were only a couple of other people in there, and just one worker. He smiled and waved when he saw Eurydice come in, rushing over to her, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.

“Hi!” he said happily. “I’m Orpheus. You’re very beautiful. Can I get you anything?”

Eurydice paid no attention to the compliment; she felt sure that it was nothing but empty words.

“Uh...yeah...I’ll have…” she paused, scanning the menu for the cheapest item. “I’ll have the soup. Thank you.”

“It’ll be right out. What’s your name, by the way?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Orpheus looked disappointed for a moment, then he walked away. Eurydice put her head down and closed her eyes for a moment, feeling absolutely exhausted. The next thing she noticed was a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Here. Your food’s ready. Sorry for having to wake you,” Orpheus said, handing Eurydice her food.

“Oh...it’s okay,” she told him. To her surprise, Orpheus didn’t leave, but instead sat down across from her.

“Are you from around here?” he asked. “It’s just - this is a pretty small town. I haven’t seen you before, and I’d definitely remember someone like you.”

Eurydice shook her head. “No. I just got here, on the most recent train.”

“Oh! Did you meet Mr. Hermes, then? He’s my dad.”

“Is he?” Eurydice asked.

“Well, not by blood, but he is my great uncle, and he’s a father figure to me. What about you? Did you come here with your family? Where are they?”

“I came here alone,” Eurydice told him, not elaborating. He didn’t need to know that she left her family long ago. Or did they leave her? She couldn’t remember anymore.

“I live alone too!” Orpheus said. “It’s great! Well, sometimes Hermes comes and stays to keep me company. I don’t think he trusts me to be by myself for extended periods of time.”

Eurydice smiled a little bit. She wasn’t going to admit it yet, but this Orpheus character was...kind of cute. She’d sworn off love long ago, but he’d be a great friend. Maybe.

“I don’t have a place to stay yet,” Eurydice said. “But I’m sure I’ll find something. I mean, I always do.”

“Do you want to stay with me until you find a place?” Orpheus asked. “My house is small, but still big enough for two people. You can get a job here, too! Lady Persephone said that we need more workers.”

“I’ll think about it. Who’s Lady Persephone?”

“Oh, she’s the owner of the bar!” he explained. “Her and her husband Hades own a lot of places in town, in fact. I actually rent from them as well. If you decide you want your own place, maybe Hades could be your landlord too?”

Eurydice blinked, mildly overwhelmed. “I’ll think about it.” She ate her soup in silence, thinking about the fact that she already knew more about this town than she did any other she’d lived in before.

“It’s almost time for me to leave,” Orpheus said after some time had passed. “Do you still want to come home with me?”

“Yes, but only until I find a place of my own. And don’t expect anything to come out of this, either.” Eurydice kept her voice firm, because regardless of how adorable and sweet Orpheus may have been, she wasn’t going to fall in love ever again and she _certainly_ wasn’t going to rush into anything ever again.

“What do you mean?” Orpheus sounded and looked truly confused.

“Like, don’t try to hook up with me or anything like that,” Eurydice said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, like it was all Orpheus wanted, like he didn’t actually care about her safety and he just wanted to make a move.

“I wouldn’t!” Orpheus blushed. “Not if you didn’t want to. I just want to be sure you have shelter.”

Eurydice nodded, deciding that she believed him. “Let’s go, then?”

“Yeah, I just need to get my guitar from the back room,” Orpheus replied, and he ran away before Eurydice could question it. And indeed, he returned a few moments later holding a guitar.

“So you’re a musician,” Eurydice noted.

Orpheus smiled at her. “I am! I play and write my own music, I’ve been doing it since I was a kid - my ma taught me how. I wanna write songs that are powerful enough to restore hope to all of the world.”

“Well, aren’t you an optimist? That’s certainly…something.” 

“Looking at you makes me feel even more optimistic,” Orpheus said. So casually, so honestly. All of his behavior was throwing Eurydice for a loop. She didn’t have the energy to question why he was being so kind, so she just went along with it. 

“How far away do you live?” Eurydice asked, changing the topic.

“Just a few blocks. What made you choose to move here?”

“It was the last stop on the train.”

“Where’d you live before?”

Eurydice realized she’d already forgotten the name of the last city she’d lived in. “A few hours north. But I’ve lived in countless places. I move around a lot. So don’t get too attached to me, okay?” The last sentence had mostly been a joke, but Orpheus seemed to take her seriously.

“I think that I already have. Anyway, I want you to stay here for awhile. But if you do decide to leave again, I’d like to keep in contact with you. Maybe I could have your number? I’ll probably need it anyway if we’re gonna live together, even if only for a few days.”

“Yeah, just remind me when we get home,” Eurydice agreed. “My phone’s dead anyway.”

“Sounds great, um, um…” Orpheus stopped talking, and for the first time all night, his confidence seemed to falter.

“You alright?”

“I just realized I don’t know your name.”

Eurydice laughed. “Yeah, it’s ‘cause I never told you! I was wondering if you’d ask again. So you’re the type to just invite some random woman to live with you, some random person whose name you don’t even know? I could be a serial killer!” 

“Doubt it. Seriously though, what’s your name?”

“Eurydice.”

“A lovely name! I’m Orpheus!”

Eurydice laughed again, even harder this time. “You already told me that, fool! Are you always like this?” 

“Yeah, I am. Something the matter?”

Eurydice just shook her head. And then a terrifying thought entered her mind - if she _was_ willing to fall in love, she _would_ fall in love with Orpheus. Fortunately, they got back to his place then, which snapped Eurydice out of her thoughts.

“I know it isn’t much,” Orpheus said, unlocking the door, “but I still love it.” It was a tiny, one-floor house, and it was much more homey than any motel room or run-down apartment that Eurydice had stayed in before.

“I love it too,” Eurydice assured him. She threw all of her bags and suitcases onto the floor, much too tired to unpack properly. “Do you still want to sing to me?” she asked.

Orpheus nodded. He sat down on the couch and grabbed his guitar, gesturing for Eurydice to sit down next to him. “I actually haven’t finished this one yet, but I’m getting there,” he said. He hesitated, only for a moment. He never felt nervous or shy about his music, but he almost did around Eurydice. He really wanted to impress her.

He cleared his throat, then started the song. “La la la la la la…”

Eurydice wasn’t going to lie - she was highly impressed by Orpheus, by his voice, his playing, his lyrics. Maybe he was right, maybe he could change the world through song. 

“You’re amazing,” Eurydice said once he was done. “You have to finish this song, you absolutely have to!”

“I will! I’ll finish it, I promise. For you.”

Eurydice grinned at him. “I know you will, I believe in you.”

“And I’ll sing the song at our wedding.”

“Now, don’t push your luck. What did I tell you earlier?” Eurydice replied, trying to act serious, but she was still smiling. She then grabbed a blanket from her suitcase and wrapped herself up in it. “I’m really tired, I’ve had an exhausting day. Is it okay if I sleep?”

“Oh, of course. The bathroom’s straight back if you need to use it.”

Eurydice stood up, taking her blanket and suitcase with her as she went into the bathroom. She locked the door and sat down on the floor, giving herself a few moments of alone time before she changed into proper pajamas and brushed her teeth. She didn’t know what she was doing, why she was here, why she already felt so attached to Orpheus. She wished that she wasn’t, she told herself, but did she really feel that way? She sighed, exiting the bathroom and heading back to the couch to lie down. Orpheus had already started working on his song again, but he stopped when she walked in.

“You don’t have to stop! I like the song, I already told you that.”

“Still, I didn’t want to disturb you too much,” Orpheus said, setting the guitar aside and heading into the bathroom. Eurydice wrapped herself tighter in her blanket and grabbed her phone and charger from her bag, plugging it in. She realized then - there was nothing to even check on her phone, there was no one that she ever bothered to keep in contact with. She’d never really made any genuine friends - she already felt closer to Orpheus than anyone else, and she’d only known him for a few hours. This was not good. 

She must have been pretty lost in thought, because she startled a bit when Orpheus walked back in. He noticed this, and promptly apologized. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Eurydice waved him away. “Oh, it’s fine, I was just...thinking about today,” she told him truthfully. “It’s alright. Here, you can give me your number now.” She handed Orpheus her phone and he punched in his info, then handed the device back to her. 

“Are you going to fall asleep, too?” Eurydice asked.

“Well...I was gonna work on my song a bit, first-”

“That’s fine. It won’t bother me. I mean, you won’t be keeping me awake or anything.”

“If you’re sure. Would you feel comfortable in my room? I’m not making you sleep on the couch.”

“I would feel fine with it, but I don’t want to force you on to the couch in your own home.”

“It’s your home for now too, if only for a little while,” Orpheus pointed out. “How about we both sleep in my room? And I’m not - what did you say back at the bar? - I’m not...expecting anything out of it or whatever.”

“That’s okay. I trust you,” Eurydice blurted out, which scared her, and what scared her even more was how true it was. She stood up, waiting for Orpheus to grab his guitar and lead the way into his room. 

“And you’re also still okay with me practicing the song while you sleep?” he asked. 

“I am. If you keep me awake I can just throw a pillow at you and tell you to shut the hell up,” Eurydice teased. “But I’m not going to do that, because I’m okay with you singing and playing. I want you to finish the song as much as you do.” She crawled under the covers then, still wrapped in her own blanket as well. She was always freezing, but she suddenly felt warm.

Orpheus sat down next to where she was lying down, singing under his breath and strumming his guitar. It did kinda keep Eurydice awake, but she didn’t mind. Listening to Orpheus’s music was much more interesting than sleeping. At some point during the night he stopped playing, crawling in bed next to Eurydice. She fell asleep eventually, feeling weirdly safe in the presence of Orpheus.

**Author's Note:**

> Hoo boy I've wanted to start this one for a while and I'm so glad that I finally did! I know that this first chapter is full of tropes and clichés but that's honestly fun sometimes and I swear it'll get more ~original~ as time goes on.  
> Youtube - Lumina Pontmercy (lyric videos/fandom edits/etc); Sky T. (more personal one dedicated to vlogging and whatnot)  
> Instagram - ThisBrightStar  
> Tumblr - rated-r-for-grantaire (main); hadsephone (Hades/Persephone, general Hadestown + Greek myth)  
> Twitter - ButchHades


End file.
